Crochet Designers Blog Tour, Day 1: A Fun Way to Add Color to Crochet!

First let me say, Happy National Crochet Month! I am so excited to be participating in the Crochet Designer's Blog Tour, organized by Amy Shelton and Donna Hulka of Crocheville. It is the first day of the tour, and the wonderful designer Jenny King and I are the hosts today! I

I decided that my special post to kick off National Crochet Month, should be about a new technique I have been experimenting with. Actually my daughter gave me the idea, when she asked if she could use some of my swatches for an art project. She said they weren't the right color, and she needed to paint them to match her color scheme. She used acrylic paint, so when the pieces were dry, they were rigid, but she was pleased with the results. I loved the idea of being able to place color exactly where I want it, after a piece has been crocheted. A neat alternative to changing colors in yarn, and having multiple ends to weave in!

To try out this technique, I crocheted a length of ornate trim in Cascade Ultra Pima cotton yarn.  I decided to use a set of 36 watercolors I purchased at Michaels. The color range and quality is excellent.  I thought that watercolors would give more subtle color and be easier to blend, and when dry, the crochet would have the same texture and feel as it did before painting. Next, I blocked the trim, so it would lay flat while painting. Then, it was time to paint! I approached the lace as if it was a blank coloring page. At first, I was worried that I would ruin the trim if I tried a color and then found it I didn't like it. I soon found out that if I pressed a paper towel on it right away, I could absorb most of the color. After that, I became more confident and really enjoyed the process! I found that I could layer the colors and get different effects, depending on how much water I used. Some helpful tips: crochet a small swatch so you can test the colors before painting them on the trim, keep a paper towel near you for blending colors or absorbing mistakes, and change your brush rinsing water often so your colors will stay true. Keep in mind that the colors look quite a bit lighter when dry, so don't be shy about the amount of color you use. You can also wait until after it dries to evaluate the level of color, and if you want more, paint the piece again. After trying this technique, I will never look at plain white cotton yarn  the same way again...oh the possibilities!

(Trim, before it was painted)

(Supplies needed: a watercolor paint set, paint brush, small bowl for water, and a paper towel)

(Adding a little more color after the paint had dried)

(Finished trim)

 Another fun thing you can do with painted crochet, is paint the piece generously and then make prints with it on paper. I am planning to make some of my own prints on greeting cards. I can see lots of uses for this technique in my future. My daughter enjoyed the painting as much as I did. If you happen to have some swatches crocheted in cotton, let your child try their hand at creating a painted crochet masterpiece!

(My daughter's painted crochet print)

The designers that are participating in the blog tour have selected a charity to promote and support this month, Project Night Night. This charity provides childhood essentials for homeless children from newborns to preteens. You can support this them by: donating money, crocheting blankets for them to give out to the children, or purchasing my patterns. I will donate 100% of the profit from all of the patterns sold in my Craftsy store, during the month of March, to the charity. I will also organize a Crochet Along (CAL) for the best selling pattern of the month, please check out my Ravelry group for details in April! I hope you will consider donating to this very worthy cause, whether you donate money or your crochet time, anything would be greatly appreciated!

The next hosts for the blog tour are the talented designers, Ellen Gormley and Nancy Nehring. Please visit their blogs tomorrow to see what they have in store for us!

I hope you all will become regular visitors to my blog. I post here about once a week, and at the end of March I will be giving away a fun prize package: a Russian crochet stitch dictionary and a digital row counter. Stay tuned for more details!